


One of the Stars

by officialgroundzero



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, Character Death, Drabble, Escape, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other, Park Seonghwa-centric, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Sorry Not Sorry, it's hinted at in the start but is explicitly shown later on, kim hongjoong is dead im sorry, kinda short sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 13:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19296274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/officialgroundzero/pseuds/officialgroundzero
Summary: Nothing Below had ever felt real. Below was dark, cold, simply a controlled facility. They had told them - not just the eight of them, their race as a whole - that they needed to be punished for the sins they had committed eons ago.That is what had led the entire human race to where they are now. Trapped underground, in slavery.It was Hongjoong who first proposed the idea of escape. It was a wild idea, no one had done it. Only a man without a fear of death could even think of something as impossible as that.





	One of the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> hey!!! i got this random idea and yeah here we are. by the way, the place described here is real!! it's called the bonneville salt flats. i went there with my family the other night and got this idea. yeah um here we are! plus hey look at me!! actually posting!!

And so, as Seonghwa’s foot struck the hard-packed salt for the first time, he couldn’t help but to think of how real it felt. 

 

Nothing Below had ever felt real. Below was dark, cold, simply a controlled facility. They had told them - not just the eight of them, their race as a whole -that they needed to be punished for the sins they had committed eons ago. 

 

That is what had led the entire human race to where they are now. Trapped underground, in slavery. 

 

It was Hongjoong who first proposed the idea of escape. It was a wild idea, no one had done it. Only a man without a fear of death could even think of something as impossible as that. 

 

In the end, it was Hongjoong  who got the other seven on board. He organized the escape, dug the tunnels, and packed their materials. He was the one who did this all - for them. 

 

The salt crunched under their feet. Seonghwa emerged from the tunnel and stood upright. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.  Only seven people had made it. 

 

There was a bright star in the distance - one of Yeosang’s contraband books told them that it was Mars - glinting down at them. 

 

Seonghwa walked forward a few steps before falling to his knees. The water lapped lazily at the land in front of him. The salt stuck to his government-issued shoes (if what they had could be called a government). Everyone else had joined him, Yunho putting a hand on his shoulder. 

 

He heard it before he saw it. There was a quiet sniffling behind Seonghwa, one he could identify as San’s. Years of living together would do that. San came and sat next to Seonghwa, Mingi following soon after. They had all flocked to the oldest of the group after what happened to Hongjoong. 

 

They all saw it happen. There would be no way to deny it. He had sacrificed himself for them, when he just as easily could have ran and left them behind. 

 

The Contricians had caught on to their plan. They didn’t know how. It was the day they were supposed to leave, just eight hours earlier. 

 

They had all just stood there and  _ watched  _ as Hongjoong was torn apart by the Contricians. He told them to leave, get out of there, or it would all be for nothing. 

 

Seonghwa could have saved him. Jongho could’ve, they all could have saved Hongjoong. 

 

But they didn’t. 

They let him give up his life for them and ran.

 

There were seven, without their eighth. Wooyoung was staring up at something in the sky. 

 

They all followed his example, and saw it for the first time. The moon. 

 

It was painted  a dark orange color, something that did not normally happen. What a night they had picked. 

 

The stars glittered in the sky above them, smiling and winking down at the seven. 

 

“He’s up there,” Jongho spoke. “Hongjoong. He’s become one of the stars.”

 

None of them had any reason to be religious, not when you’re trapped in a place like they were. But somehow, all of them found comfort in Jongho’s words. Finally, Seonghwa looked away from his hands. He looked up at the moon for the first time. 

 

“Hongjoong,” he spoke breathlessly. He was cold, shivering noticeably. “We made it.” 

 

The moon cast its glow on their skin, highlighting their pale arms and faces. The seven of them sat together in silence, looking at the outside world for the first time. 

 

Maybe Jongho was right. Hongjoong had led them all here.

 

They would just like to think that Hongjoong was still with them.

  
  



End file.
